INSECT NOTES FOR 1904. 

 Edith M. Patch. 



The situation for this year is marked especially by an immi- 

 gration of brown-tail moths, Euproctis chrysorrhoea, to the 

 southern part of the State in July; the reappearance of the 

 white-marked tussock moth, Notolophus leuco stigma, in the 

 shade trees of Portland ; the occurrence of the red-humped cater- 

 pillar, CEdemasia concinna, in all parts of the State ; a conspic- 

 uous outbreak of the cottony grass-scale, Briopeltis festucoc, in 

 many localities ; and a general infestation of aphids. 



Just the right conditions (whatever they may be) have existed 

 for aphids this summer. From April to November black alders 

 have been white stemmed with Schizoneura tessellata as shown 

 in fig. 33. About the middle of July the maples along the 

 Penobscot were clustered thick upon leaves and leaf stems with 

 aphids of the same genus, and the river two miles above Old 

 Town had a milky white cast caused by the bodies and molts. 

 In June whole hillsides were sticky with honey dew, the conifer- 

 ous trees present being covered with aphids which for the most 

 part belonged to the genus Lachnus. The leaves of apple, elm 

 highbush cranberry, snowball, and currant are among those 

 which were especially attacked. Chermes pinicorticis was con- 

 spicuous in some localities on white pine. Perhaps the most 

 interesting of the gall producing aphids present is a species of 

 Chermes which is distorting the branches of the Norway and 

 red spruces in eastern Maine. The open cone-like gall of this 

 aphis is shown in fig. 34. 



As would be expected, numbers of insects were attendant upon 

 the aphis colonies. Five species of fireflys, Lampyridcc, were 

 common upon infested bushes in June ; the first of July lace- 

 winged flies, Chrysopidce, were shyly darting about the woods 

 while their progeny of aphis lions were ravaging colonies of 

 plant lice ; all through the season striped syrphus flies (fig. 37) 

 could be seen hovering about and their larvze (fig. 36) could be 

 found everywhere waxing fat in aphis clusters ; the lady beetles 

 were not so numerous as might be wished, though eight species 

 were taken at Orono in May and June. Of the insects which 



